Date: Tue, Jan 14, 2014 at 8:19 AM
Subject: Update about 'Okinawa Governor Nakaima: Deny the application to landfill our precious Sea of Dugong for a US military base!' on Change.org

Dear friends,
Thank you for signing our petition "Okinawa Governor Nakaima: Deny the application to landfill our precious Sea of Dugong for a US military base!"
Over the past two months since we started the petition October 15th, we have received over 42,000 signatures. These signatures hailed from over sixty countries, and on November 27th, we delivered 39,632 signatures to the governor's office.
With the help of supporters and friends, we were able to provide the petition in five languages (Japanese; English; Korean, French, and German). Through these petitions, we have been able to share the 'truth of the Dugong' widely. The 'inconvenient truth' that the Japanese government tried to hide about the environmental damage and impact on the dugong of this new military base was shared and seen by people all over the world.
But despite the scientific and moral arguments to deny the landfill application, Governor Nakaima caved to pressure from the Japanese government. On December 27th, he stated publicly that he would approve the application.
This flies in the face of what the people of Henoko and the people of Okinawa seek, as has been shown in poll after poll.
The "Northernmost Dugong" are already endangered. If this landfill and military base construction proceeds, it is likely that the few dugong that are left in Okinawa waters will not be able to survive.
We cannot allow this happen. We will continue to work to protect these precious remaining dugong.
We will be closing this petition given the Governor's decision, but no matter the pressure we face, we will not give up fighting to save our previous Sea of Dugong to create a U.S. military base.
As our activities will move to the next step, you can support us and keep up with the news on our blog (sorry, in Japanese only):
★沖縄事務所ブログ http://hokugen.ti-da.net/
★ジュゴン調査ブログ http://teamzan.ti-da.net/
International Scholars, Peace Advocates and Artists Condemn Agreement To Build New U.S. Marine Base in Okinawa http://english.ryukyushimpo.jp/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/PRESS_RELEASE_English.pdf
We hope to see you again, and thank you for your support from the bottom of our hearts.
Association to Protect the Northernmost Dugong --
Masako Suzuki, Etsuko Urashima, Iyanaga Kenichi
Henoko, Okinawa, Japan